Press Release: Government weakening our climate law under urgency
Today, the Government is expected to push through amendments to our central climate framework law, the Climate Change Response Act, under urgency today.
As expected, the Government is weakening our legislated 2050 biogenic methane target under urgency before Christmas, cutting it from the current 24–47% range to 14–24%, on the basis of a controversial 'no additional warming above 2017 levels' assessment - in the face of warnings from that this is an inappropriate and dangerous approach, and inconsistent with our international obligations.
Also as expected, the Bill removes the requirement that our ETS settings “accord” with our Paris Agreement targets (NDCs), once again raising the question of how the Government intends to meet our 2030 NDC.
The Bill pushes back to 2027 the deadline for when the Minister of Climate Change must set our fourth emissions budget (covering 2036-2040). It also suggests the Minister won't respond to the Commission's advice to tighten our second and third emissions budgets - leaving any decision on those until partway through our next budget, and effectively requiring the Commission to publish new advice based on the new 2050 target.
The Bill imposes a new requirement for the Minister to consider when setting emissions budgets, requiring the Minister to take into account “the implications, or potential implications, for domestic food production”. This is a compromise that will have been driven by agricultural interests.
The last week has been a real ‘mask-off’ moment for the New Zealand Government, revealing a concerning lack of credible commitment to our international obligations on climate change.
Officials’ warned the Government that our new 2050 target “may be seen as inconsistent” with the 1.5°C temperature goal under the Paris Agreement, as it’s built on a scenario of 2.0-2.7°C warming. The science is clear: this is a dangerous level of warming, and our international climate commitments require us to be aiming to limit the temperature rise to 1.5°C.
The Department Disclosure Statement also tellingly answers “NO” to the question of whether this Bill seeks to give effect to NZ’s action in relation to an international treaty. This is unsurprising given the substance of the changes, but striking given the purpose of the Act remains to enable New Zealand to meet its Paris Agreement obligations.
The Government now plans to pass this Bill under urgency within the next two weeks. Many of these changes did not need to be made under urgency, and are deserving of full parliamentary scrutiny and public input. The fact they are being made in such a rush raises real questions.
Unlike when the Act itself was passed, with 119 of 120 MPs voting in favour, these changes almost certainly won't be passed with wide bipartisan support, marking a concerning step-change in the bipartisan consensus on our climate goals that we have enjoyed up to this point.